Tag: meteor

The meteor that lit up the night sky over southeast Michigan and shook the ground Tuesday night did not actually cause an earthquake, researchers say. In fact, meteors do not cause earthquakes to rupture along a fault, according to William Yeck, a research geophysicist at the United States Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado. The seismic observations associated with the meteor were assigned a magnitude 2.0 by the United States Geological Survey, which said the event was centered about 5 miles west-southwest of New Haven, Michigan, some 40 miles northeast of Detroit. The National Weather Service sent out a tweet that said, "USGS confirms meteor occurred around 810 pm, causing a magnitude 2.0 earthquake." But Yeck said the magnitude cannot be di...

Skywatchers are in for a dazzling show tonight. The annual Geminid meteor shower that will streak across the night sky will be one of the best of the year, scientists say. The Geminid meteors are expected to peak overnight. With good weather conditions, the cosmic display can be seen between 7:30 p.m. and dawn local time. The largest number of meteors will be visible between midnight and 4 a.m. local time, according to NASA. "With August's Perseids obscured by bright moonlight, the Geminids will be the best shower this year," said Bill Cooke with NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. "The thin, waning crescent Moon won't spoil the show." Considered one of the year's most reliable meteor showers, the Geminids occur every December when Earth passes through a vast trail of dusty debris she...

Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere will be treated to a show of shooting stars on Friday and Saturday night as the Perseid meteor shower peaks over the weekend.There is one problem, however: a near-full moon. The moon turned full on August 7. By Saturday, the moon will be an 80 percent full waning gibbous.Clouds and light-pollution -- whether from skyscrapers or full moons -- are the primary enemies of stargazing.Rumors that this month's Perseids will be of epic proportions have been propagating online. Those spreading the hype apparently failed to check the lunar calendar.Despite the glare of the moon, viewers will still be able to see some shooting stars, perhaps as many as 20 per hour in the early morning hours. The shooting stars will appear as if they're coming fr...

Stargazers were given a treat on Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday as the Perseid meteor shower dazzled the sky.Meteors are small fragments of interplanetary debris and dust that enter the Earth's atmosphere at such a high speed that they usually burn up, producing the shooting stream of light.The Perseid meteor shower, one of the best-known of the meteor showers, is active from mid July until 24 August but its peak was expected to be this weekend, particularly Saturday night and in the pre-dawn hours of Sunday.One of those who stayed up was Twitter user John-GM7PBB who lives on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.He told Sky News that he had set his camera up at about 11pm on Saturday and was rewarded with two beautiful images of a meteor above the horizon.His window of opportunit...

The Perseid meteor shower will peak over the weekend, giving stargazers the opportunity to spot scores of shooting stars in the sky.Astronomers say hundreds of meteors will streak across the sky in a display that may be visible around the world.The Perseid meteor shower occurs every July and August as the Earth passes debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet.The BBC Weather centre said it would peak from 23:00 BST on Saturday and could be seen in most parts of the UK.However, experts say the Perseids could be harder to see this year as the Moon will be three-quarters full.Robin Scagell, vice president of the Society for Popular Astronomy, said he was still hopeful of a good display. "We can look forward to a decent display, even though they aren't going to be raining down from the sky."The Perse...